Chennai: Left-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to be Sri Lanka’s new President as he secured about 50 per cent of votes polled in Saturday’s watershed election, the first after the country faced an unprecedented economic crisis in 2022.
55-year-old Anura, popularly known as AKD and perceived to be close to China, is likely to be sworn in as President within hours of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka declaring the results. He will have to continue his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to bail out the tattered economy and reduce taxes as promised during his campaign.
As per results released at 8 am Sunday, AKD secured 49.77 per cent of votes with Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa emerging as a distant runner-up with 25.78 per cent of votes.
Ranil, the veteran politician who stepped in after the Rajapaksas were booted out of power and took sincere efforts to get Sri Lanka out of the crisis, was pushed to the third position at 16.37 per cent, while Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda, scored a mere 2.92 per cent.
As Anura continued to establish a steady lead since counting of votes began Saturday night, the camps of incumbent Ranil and LoP Sajith conceded defeat and congratulated the JVP leader on his victory.
Anura’s ascent to Sri Lankan Presidency is meteoric as he secured a mere 3.2 per cent votes in the 2019 Presidential polls that saw Gotabhaya Rajapaksa winning a landslide on national security plank following the deadly Easter blasts.
However, his key role in the 2022 Araghalya protests against the Rajapaksas and the political class caught the imagination of youngsters and old alike, who seem to have put their weight behind the Marxist-leaning party leader.
A ”fundamental change” in Sri Lanka’s political landscape was AKD’s war cry as he highlighted the sufferings of the masses during the economic crisis like 17-hour power cut, long queues outside shops, inflation soaring to new heights, and sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities in his campaign.
Anura’s victory truly marks a tectonic shift in Sri Lanka’s political landscape as this is the first time that a party representing the working class will be in power. However, Anura has an arduous task of convincing the international community that JVP, which had led two insurgencies in Sri Lanka in 1971 and 1987, will continue to steer Sri Lanka out of the crisis and ensure there is no trust deficit between his country and the West.
Anura should also live up to his promises of slash taxes to reduce burden on the people, while he should assure investors, including those from India, that their interests would be protected.
India, Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour which watched the polls with avid interest, is likely to reach out to AKD almost immediately after he is declared as the new President. Though JVP is widely perceived as “anti-India”, New Delhi did reach out to AKD as early as in February 2024 by inviting him to the country and held discussions with him.
It becomes absolutely imperative for both countries to work together given their strategic interests. Moreover, India has invested heavily in Sri Lanka after the end of the war in 2009, more so following the 2022 economic crisis.